Learning about world religions (as opposed to teaching religious beliefs) as part of social studies can provide a space for students and teachers to have conversations about religious diversity in a respectful, balanced manner. In this article, the authors discuss reading stories and discussing religious diversity as a vehicle to open conversations about religion and diversity, and use the book Lailah’s Lunchbox to provide an example of content and questions teachers can use in their classroom. 

In order to promote inclusive social studies, this article describes how upper-level elementary students can learn about the Women’s Suffrage Movement and how it intersects with the experiences of other marginalized Americans persevering to obtain the right to vote.

This article models how to teach civic dispositions using popular trade books that do not have an obvious connection to critical themes (e.g., power, privilege, identity). In doing so, the authors show how to create opportunities to teach civic dispositions within a school environment that may forbid some books as “too controversial” or that might accept lessons that gradually introduce students (and their parents) to a topic that may be controversial.  While focusing on the read aloud as an opportunity for civic learning, the authors describe how the pedagogical frameworks of critical…

Teaching Ancient and Medieval Africa with the History Bento Box ProjectAnna Mariah Mills Racial Literacy Book Clubs in Middle School: Five Things to ConsiderJoanna Batt  

The Celebration of Learning Quilt: A Review During Distance TeachingSara M. Monnat Yikes! Teaching During a Pandemic and Fully Online: New Teacher TipsValerie Ooka Pang and Lynne A. Bercaw Harness Student Choice-making via a Q-Sort ActivityChaebong Nam and Jenny Chung Greenfield A Teaching Activity About VotingSylvia Vardell and Janet Wong

This article describes the month-long social studies unit on mindfulness that the kindergarten teacher co-taught in her classroom with Sarah, an elementary social studies professor, and Maya, then a teacher candidate. After exploring the intersections between mindfulness and social studies education, examples of activities and resources from the unit will be provided, including breathing techniques and children’s literature.

Whose Responsibility is it to Protect the Amazon? Misty Galloway Tucker also in this issue:Creating Anti-Bullying PSAs in the ClassroomAndrea Saltzman Martin, Valerie Ooka Pang, Eric J. Ginsberg, Jennifer M. Pang, Luke Duesbery, and Edward R. Dial Surviving Eighth GradeAndrea S. Libresco